The Microcar Virgo was a licence-exempt quadricycle built by the French manufacturer Microcar. It gave the range its short wheelbase: the long-wheelbase MC Series cars that came later were 40 mm longer than the short Virgo models. The name was used for several versions, among them the Virgo 2, Virgo 3 and Virgo Luxe.
Microcar Virgo at a glance
| Maker | Microcar, France |
|---|---|
| Model | Virgo |
| Class | quadricycle, licence-exempt car (voiture sans permis) |
| Wheelbase | short: the long-wheelbase MC Series was 40 mm longer than the short Virgo models |
| Versions | Virgo, Virgo 2, Virgo 3, Virgo Luxe |
| Later in the range | MC Series, sold as the MC1 and MC2 |
| Company | Microcar, founded in 1980 as a division of Jeanneau |
| Company history | part of Ligier Automobiles from 2008 |
| Brand ended | Microcar brand discontinued in 2024, factory at Montaigu closed in 2025 |
The Virgo has no Wikipedia article of its own. What is published about it comes from the articles on the Microcar brand on English and French Wikipedia, which record the model and its versions but give no production figures or dates.
History of the Microcar Virgo
A short car in a range of short cars
Microcar was founded in 1980 as a division of Jeanneau, the French sailboat builder, and made its name with voitures sans permis: light quadricycles that can be driven without an ordinary driving licence. The Virgo belongs to that early family of models. It was the short-wheelbase car of the range, and the comparison survived long enough to be used for the models that followed: the long-wheelbase version of the MC Series, sold as the MC1 and MC2, was 40 mm longer than the short Virgo models.
Versions and the life of the brand
Wikipedia records four names: the Virgo itself, the Virgo 2, the Virgo 3 and the Virgo Luxe, all now listed among the company’s former models. In September 2008 Microcar was acquired by Ligier Automobiles in a deal backed by the Italian private equity firm 21 Investimenti Partners, creating Europe’s second-biggest microcar manufacturer; in 2014 the company was absorbed by Automobiles Ligier and Microcar became a brand of Ligier. In 2024 Ligier announced that the Microcar brand would be discontinued, and in early 2025 the Microcar factory at Montaigu in the Vendée was closed.
Design and features
- Short wheelbase: the Virgo was the short car of the range, 40 mm shorter than the long-wheelbase MC Series that followed it.
- Several versions: the Virgo, Virgo 2, Virgo 3 and Virgo Luxe are all recorded.
- Licence-exempt class: a voiture sans permis, the type of vehicle Microcar built from 1980.
- Part of a long model line: the name sits between the company’s earliest models and the MC Series of the 2000s.
Microcar Virgo versions
- Virgo: the original version of the model.
- Virgo 2: the second version.
- Virgo 3: the third version.
- Virgo Luxe: the more highly equipped version.
The long-wheelbase cars that followed were the MC1 and MC2; the range also included the Spid. More cars of the maker are in the Microcar collection.
Sources
- Microcar (brand), English Wikipedia: the Virgo versions and the 40 mm wheelbase difference
- Microcar, French Wikipedia: the model list, the Ligier merger and the end of the brand
